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Copyright 1910 by 
S. M. BROWN 



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A FOREWORD. 

We have had of late years very much 
concerning the organization and work of 
classes of church members, but very little 
concerning the organization and work of 
the church itself. It seems to the author 
of this brief work that much time and 
thought have been, in a manner, wasted, by 
losing sight of the church itself as the one 
only necessary local organization for the 
prosecution of every phase of Christian 
activity, and the employment of every gift 
belonging to the churches. I therefore 
present this plain treatise upon Church 
Organization and Work, with the hope and 
prayer that it may be blessed of God to 
the simplifying of what has come to be a 
rather complex and perplexing question. 

S. M. Brown. 

Kansas City, Mo., December, 1910. 



CONTENTS 



INTRODUCTION . 



CHAPTER I. 
The Church Defined 11 

CHAPTER II. 
Institution of the First Church 17 

CHAPTER III. 
The Officers 23 

CHAPTER IV. 
Pastor and Deacons 27 

CHAPTER V. 
The Object of the Church 31 

CHAPTER VI. 
The Church and General Bodies 37 

CHAPTER VII. 
Unity of Organization 41 

CHAPTER VIII. 
Launching the Work 45 

CHAPTER IX. 
The Work of the Pastor 51 

CHAPTER X. 
The Work of the Deacon 57 

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CONTENTS-Continued 

CHAPTER XI. 
Conducting the Deacon's Work 65 

CHAPTER XII. 
The Ordinances 69 

CHAPTER XIII. 
The Church and all Christian Work 85 

CHAPTER XIV. 
The Church a Brotherhood 93 

CHAPTER XV. 
An Appeal to Pastors 97 

CHAPTER XVI. 
An Appeal to Deacons 101 



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INTRODUCTION. 

Partly before his death, and altogether before 
his ascension, Christ provided for the doing of 
what he wished to have done in the world during 
all the period between his ascension and his sec- 
ond coming. The gospel was to be preached to 
all the world, and an advancing, constructive work 
of the Kingdom carried on. For the perpetuation 
and consummation of his work he, of course, 
planned wisely. Any other conclusion would be 
an indictment of his wisdom. We must think of 
him as having before him, in the making of his 
plan, all ages, all places and all condition?. And 
we cannot think of him as ordaining and project- 
ing a plan that was not in the highest degree ef- 
ficient and adequate. The one hope of success, 
then, in the work of evangelizing the world and 
making the kingdoms of this world the Kingdom 
of our Lord and his Christ, is for Christ's people 
to work on the line of his plan. 

Christ's plan was the simple New Testament 
church. He made no other plan. He needs no 
other. He instituted, equipped and commissioned 
the church to be his executive on earth till he 
came again. It is his plan that he shall be made 
known to the world through his church. 

We are passing through a period of adventure, in- 
vention and experiment in relation to means for the 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

bringing in of the Kingdom. Extra scriptural and 
extra church organizations and movements abound 
in great profusion and bewildering confusion. 
In the meantime the Kingdom of God is not ad- 
vancing by leaps and bounds. And we are begin- 
ning to see that there is a noise of religious ma 
chinery that is out of all proportion to the grist 
that is being ground. A few here and there are 
rubbing the dust, stirred up by passing move- 
ments, out of their eyes and are seeing that all 
of this hurrahing and running to and fro is at 
the expense of the dignity, integrity and efficiency 
of the churches; that the churches have been neg- 
lected, discounted, deserted and impoverished by 
the devotion of their members to organizations 
and movements which have been attempting to do 
the work of the churches. We are learning, too, 
that a church cannot be organized by organizing 
classes and fragments of it into different squads 
for the doing of this and that. Whatever impairs 
the integrity of a church injures both the church 
and the cause the church is meant to serve. Many 
are slow to learn that the wise rnd right thing 
to do is to bring to bear the force of the coherent, 
compact whole upon every item and phase of 
work. 

Every human duty is included in the obligations 
imposed by church membership. Every good thing 
a church member can do in this world for the pro- 
motion of the Kingdom of God, he can do, and 
ought to do, as a church member. 

The author of this little book goes in the face 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

of much of current thought and practice. His 
plea for a transfer of emphasis seems to be time- 
ly and well grounded. He seems to have the ad- 
vantage over any contrary views of putting em- 
phasis where the Scriptures put it. The reader 
will find refreshing diversion in a sober, reverent, 
judicious discussion of the churches, as set over 
against extra church organizations and move- 
ments. The prediction is ventured that the cir- 
culation of this vigorous book will have a most 
wholesome effect upon the church life of our time. 
This time it is our friend and not our "enemy" 
who has written "a book." 

Robert King Maiden. 



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Church Organization 
and Work 

CHAPTER I. 

The Church Defined. 

. . The word ecclesia, which is the Greek 
word translated "church/' in our English 
New Testament, means, primarily, a con- 
gregation, an assembly, called out. As 
used in the New Testament, the word al- 
most invariably refers to a local congrega- 
tion of baptized believers in Christ, who 
assemble for the purpose of the worship of 
God; for preaching and teaching His 
Word, and for the administration ofthe or- 
dinances of the gospel. The few exceptions 
in the use of the term, are where it is used 
in a generic sense, or in an accommodated 
sense ; but nowhere is the idea of organiza- 
tion implied, except where the word is used 
to designate a local assembly. There is no 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

warrant, in the scriptural use of the term, 
for calling a hierarchy, a presbytery, a 
sect, or the aggregate of the local assem- 
blies in a given territory, the church, or a 
church. Plainly the term ecclesia as used 
in the New Testament, when in any sense 
referring to an organization, invariably 
signifies a local congregation. Let it be 
understood, therefore, that when we speak 
of church organization and work, a local 
congregation or assembly of believers in 
Christ is meant. 

Much confusion among Christians has 
arisen on account of a corrupted usage of 
the term. The term church is used to sig- 
nify a meeting house, a building ; it is used 
to designate the aggregate of all true be- 
lievers in Christ; it is used with reference 
to a denomination throughout the world, 
or in a given country, and so on. This cor- 
rupt and improper use of the term grew 
out of heretical and unscriptural views of 
the nature of the church, and so it fits into 
the language of those who have adopted 
such unscriptural views. Baptists should 
therefore stand guard over, and contend 
for, that scriptural use of the term which 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

contributes to right views of the teaching 
of the Scriptures on the subject. 

If, for instance, Baptists speak of the 
aggregate of all believers in Christ* they 
should never denominate such aggregate 
the church of Christ. If they refer to the 
separate denominations as composing one 
great body, it should never be denominated 
the church. The prevailing New Testa- 
ment meaning of the term church should 
be insisted upon by Baptists, because a 
scriptural use of the term becomes a most 
effective teaching concerning the scrip- 
tural view of the term, and is at once a pro- 
test against the error into which the Chris- 
tian world has fallen. 

The word ecclesia appears in the New 
Testament at least thirty-three times in the 
singular, and at least seventeen times in the 
plural number, where reference is clearly 
to a local congregation, in a particular 
place ; while the word is used eleven times 
in the singular, and eighteen times in the 
plural number, where the local idea is per- 
fectly clear, and yet no particular assem- 
bly is meant. Then there are numerous 
other passages where only a local congre- 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

gation can possibly be spoken of, whereas 
there are very few instances where the 
term could possibly have been used in a 
larger sense; but in each of these there 
is clearly present the idea of an assembly 
on earth or in heaven. 

So we take it that the meaning that all 
Christians should attach to the term is a 
local congregation of believers in Christ, 
who assemble for worship and service. 

It should be stated here, that much of 
the confusion that has arisen in regard to 
the meaning of the word ecclesia, is on ac- 
count of the fact that we have translated 
it by the word church, which is derived 
from the Scotch kirk and from the German 
kirche; and these in turn were perhaps de- 
rived from the Greek kuriakon, which 
originally signified a house of God. So we 
call a meeting house a church. Since, how- 
ever, we have translated ecclesia by this 
word, we should avoid, as far as possible, 
the ambiguous use of it. In all our speak- 
ing and writing, distinction should be made 
between the Kingdom and the churches. 
Every saved person is in the Kingdom, but 
only those who have made public profes- 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

sion of faith in Christ in baptism, and who 
have entered into covenant fellowship with 
each other, are members of the churches. 



(15) 



CHAPTER II. 

Institution of the First Church. 

The church is peculiar to the gospel 
dispensation. The church of Christ is not 
a continuation of anything Jewish, ex- 
cept as it was foreshadowed by certain 
symbolisms. The first church was not 
established on the day of Pentecost, as 
some claim; for we are plainly told that 
those who, on that occasion, gladly re- 
ceived the word and were baptized, were 
"added unto them" ; that is, to some insti- 
tution, body, or assembly, which had a pre- 
vious existence. The language is: Acts 
2:41 — "They, then, that received his word 
were baptized, and there were added unto 
them in that day about three thousand 
souls." Added unto whom? Why, plain- 
ly, unto "the eleven." If you will turn 
back in this same chapter to the fourteenth 
verse, you will read: "But Peter, stand- 
ing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

and spake unto them, saying," and so on. 
"With the eleven," "and there were added 
unto them," added unto whom? Why, unto 
the eleven disciples. Who constituted 
these eleven disciples an assembly to which 
these converts were added? Now, if we 
turn to Luke 6 : 12 we read : "And it came 
to pass in these days that He went out into 
the mountain to pray, and He continued all 
night in prayer to God, and when it was 
day He called His disciples ; and He chose 
from them twelve, whom also He named 
apostles." Then follow the names of these 
men. In the seventeenth verse of the 
same chapter we read: "And He came 
down with them (the twelve), and stood 
on a level place, and a great multitude of 
His disciples." Here Jesus stands with 
the twelve. He has chosen them from a 
multitude of His disciples, and from that 
day it is "Jesus and the twelve." He 
joined these men together in a special rela- 
tion to each other which did not exist 
among the other disciples. They were an 
organization ; they had a common treasury, 
and a common treasurer. It is true they 
were apostles, but they were disciples also, 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

and they composed the first church. These 
men were ever thereafter with Jesus. 
They followed Him; they learned from 
His blessed lips the great lessons of truth 
and wisdom which they were to propagate 
after His death, burial and resurrection. 
His memorable prayer, as recorded in the 
seventeenth chapter of the Gospel by John, 
was made for them. After the departure 
of Judas the traitor, it was with the eleven 
He instituted the Lord's Supper; and on 
that occasion He said to them, "But ye are 
they that have continued with me in my 
temptations, and I appoint unto you a 
kingdom, even as my Father hath ap- 
pointed unto me, that ye may eat and drink 
at my table in my kingdom." Here the 
Lord was beginning to turn over the man- 
agement of the affairs of His kingdom on 
earth to this little company of men whom 
he had called out from the other disciples. 
He gives them this ordinance of His 
church. 

Again, after His crucifixion, burial and 
resurrection, and after His appearance to 
different individuals, establishing His res- 
urrection by many infallible proofs, He 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORE. 

meets these eleven disciples, according to 
a previous appointment, and gives to them, 
in their collective and representative ca- 
pacity, His Great Commission to preach 
the gospel to the whole creation; to bap- 
tize all who believe, and to teach them to 
observe whatsoever He had commanded. 
The very terms of this Commission plainly 
show that the Lord could not have intended 
it to apply to these men as individuals, con- 
sidered either as disciples or apostles. "Go 
ye into all the world." "Preach the gospel 
to the whole creation." "Lo I am with 
you alivay, even unto the end of the age." 
Now it was plainly impossible for these 
men, in any individual capacity whatso- 
ever, to have complied with this command. 
There is, therefore, no other conclusion 
possible, except that our Lord addressed 
these men collectively, as representing an 
organization, or institution, which was in- 
tended to be perpetual, and which, in an 
organized capacity, could "go into all the 
world . . . preach the gospel to the whole 
creation," and to which was given the 
promise of His abiding presence to the 
"end of the age." 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

This was the first church. It was con- 
stituted by Him who said, "I will build my 
church." It was to this church that the 
people were "added" on the day of Pente- 
cost; and it was to this first church in its 
representative capacity, that the commis- 
sion to preach, teach, and baptize, was 
given. 

But these men were not only disciples; 
they were also inspired apostles; and un- 
der the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they 
completed the organization of the church 
by adding the office of deacon; and fur- 
nished it with many divinely inspired epis- 
tles, setting forth the doctrines and prac- 
tices which were to distinguish His 
churches in all generations. 

Herein is seen the wisdom of Jesus. If 
He had not chosen these men and related 
them to each other in this sacred fellow- 
ship and relationship, the probability 
would plainly seem to be, that, when the 
disjointed, unorganized multitude of His 
disciples passed away, His name and cause 
would have perished from the earth. 
Jesus Himself constituted the first church, 
which became the Jerusalem church, and 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

which could refer to the eleven faithful dis- 
ciples as its charter members. Paul, in 
writing his epistle to the Ephesians, says 
(Eph. 2:19, 20) : "So then ye are no more 
strangers and sojourners, but ye are fellow 
citizens with the saints, and of the house- 
hold of God, being built upon the founda- 
tion of the apostles and prophets, Christ 
Jesus Himself being the chief cornerstone, 
in whom each several building, fitly 
framed together, groweth into a holy tem- 
ple in the Lord, in whom also ye are 
builded together, for a habitation of God in 
the Spirit." Here reference is made to the 
several local churches, resting upon the 
apostles as the foundation, Jesus Christ 
Himself being the chief cornerstone. 
"Each several building" signifies each sev- 
eral local organization, and these have as 
their beginning the apostolic church, and 
for their complete direction the apostolic 
teaching. So it is said they are "built 
upon the apostles." 



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CHAPTER III. 

The Officers. 

The New Testament church seems to 
have two, and only two, officers: that of 
bishop or pastor, and deacon. The former 
of these is designated by several different 
terms, all of which signify the same of- 
fice. The probability is that one of these 
terms used most commonly to designate 
this office, the term Elder, was some- 
times used to designate any and all or- 
dained persons in the churches. This 
fact explains the matter of a plurality 
of Elders in some of the New Testa- 
ment churches. There were also certain 
other persons designated, who, by some, 
have been considered as officers of the 
church; but a careful examination of the 
entire teaching of the New Testament 
plainly shows that these two, bishop or 
pastor, and deacon, were the only perma- 
nent officials in the church. The others 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

referred to, such as teachers, helps, gov- 
ernments, prophets, etc., were rather 
"gifts" belonging to the churches than per- 
manent officials in the church organiza- 
tion. This fact more clearly appears if we 
consider that, in all the epistles, especially 
the pastoral epistles of Timothy and Titus, 
we have pointed out especially the qualifi- 
cations only of bishop and deacon, as if 
they were to be considered as the only offi- 
cers of the churches. The office of bishop 
or pastor seems to have special reference 
to the spiritual, while that of the deacon 
has reference to the temporal or business 
side of the life of the churches. These of- 
ficers were elected by the vote of the mem- 
bership of the churches, and there is no 
intimation that the tenure of office was 
other than permanent, during life or good 
behavior. 

The term bishop means overseer, and the 
term pastor means shepherd. The term 
deacon means servant. 

The qualifications of these officers are 
clearly set forth in the New Testament 
Scriptures. In 1 Timothy 3 :1-11, we read : 
"Faithful is the saying, If a man seeketh 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

the office of a bishop, he desireth a good 
work. The bishop therefore must be with- 
out reproach, the husband of one wife, 
temperate, sober-minded, orderly, given to 
hospitality, apt to teach, no brawler, no 
striker; but gentle, not contentious; no 
lover of money; one that ruleth well his 
own house, having his children in subjec- 
tion with all gravity (but if a man know- 
eth not how to rule his own house, how 
shall he take care of the church of God?), 
not a novice, lest being puffed up he fall 
into the condemnation of the devil. More- 
over, he must have good testimony from 
them that are without, lest he fall into re- 
proach and the snare of the devil. ,, "Dea- 
cons in like manner must be grave, not 
double-tongued, not given to much wine, 
not greedy of filthy lucre ; holding the mys- 
tery of the faith in a pure conscience. 
And let these also be first proved ; then let 
them serve as deacons, if they be blame- 
less. . . . Let deacons be husbands of one 
wife, ruling their children and their own 
houses well. For they that have served 
well as deacons gain to themselves a good 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

standing and great boldness in the faith 
which is in Christ Jesus." 

In Titus 1:5-10, we read: "For this 
cause left I thee in Crete, that thou 
shouldst set in order the things that were 
wanting, and appoint elders in every city 
as I gave thee charge ; if any man is blame- 
less, the husband of one wife, having chil- 
dren that believe, who are not accused of 
riot or unruly; For the bishop must be 
blameless as God's steward; not self- 
willed, not soon angry, no brawler, no 
striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but 
given to hospitality ; a lover of good, sober- 
minded, just, holy, self-controlled; holding 
to the faithful word which is according to 
the teaching, that he may be able to ex- 
hort in the sound doctrine and to convict 
the gainsayers." 

Here we have the recognition of only 
two officials, bishop and deacon. Their 
qualifications have special reference to 
their duties, which are to be considered in 
later chapters in this book. 



(26) 



CHAPTER IV. 

Pastor and Deacons. 

The offices of pastor and deacon are re- 
ciprocal. The occasion of the origination 
of the office of deacon indicates something 
of this relation. That the office of dea- 
con was created in the Jerusalem church, 
as recorded in Acts 6, will, I suppose, be 
generally accepted. The account is as fol- 
lows : "Now in these days when the num- 
ber of the disciples was multiplying, there 
arose a murmuring of the Grecian Jews 
against the Hebrews, because their widows 
were neglected in the daily ministrations; 
And the twelve called the multitude of the 
disciples unto them and said, It is not fit 
that we should forsake the word of God 
and serve tables. Look ye out, therefore, 
brethren from among you, seven men of 
good report, full of the Spirit and of wis- 
dom, whom we may appoint over this busi- 
ness. .But we will continue steadfastly in 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

prayer and in the ministry of the Word. 
And the saying pleased the. whole multi- 
tude: and they chose Stephen, a man full 
of faith and of the Holy Spirit (then follow 
the names of six others), whom they set 
before the apostles, and when they had 
prayed they laid their hands upon them." 
That this was really the origination of 
the office of deacon, appears from the fol- 
lowing considerations : 

1. The necessity which led to the ap- 
pointment of these men was of a nature to 
be perpetual. 

2. The ceremony of laying on of the 
hands of the apostles must have been for 
the purpose of inducting them into office — 
ordination — and not to the end that they 
might receive the Holy Spirit, as the filling 
of the Spirit was made a necessary previ- 
ous qualification in the selection of these 
men. 

3. In the later history of the churches, 
we have clearly pointed out the office of 
deacon; and there seems to be no other 
occasion which could possibly be referred 
to as the institution of the office. 

4. The clearly defined qualifications of 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

the deacons, as set forth in the epistles, 
exactly correspond to the qualifications of 
the seven men mentioned in this sixth 
chapter of the Acts. 

From these considerations we conclude 
that the generally accepted opinion that 
we have recorded here the institution of 
the office of deacon, is the correct one. 

These seven men were chosen to "this 
business" in order to relieve the ministers 
of the Word from temporal cares, so that 
they might devote themselves entirely to 
the preaching of the Word, and to prayer. 
So that it seems clear that, while the pas- 
tor or bishop is charged with preaching 
and leading the flock, taking a general 
oversight and leadership of the entire 
work, the deacons are intended to have 
charge of the temporal affairs of the 
church ("this business"), so that the 
preacher's hands may be untied. Clearly 
the two offices shade into each other ; and 
each partakes, in a measure, of the work of 
the other. The pastor is the leader and 
teacher of the whole flock; and in this 
teaching is included all that portion of the 
Word which has reference to the business 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

side of the churches' life, while the work of 
the deacon in "serving" the church and 
aiding the pastor, necessarily involves the 
spiritual as well as the financial aspect of 
the work. 



(30) 



CHAPTER V. 
The Object of the Church. 

Every organization or society is sup- 
posed to have an object or purpose which 
calls for and justifies its existence. What, 
then, is the purpose of the churches as or- 
ganizations ? 

The Great Commission which our Lord 
gave to the eleven disciples, who composed 
the first church, sets out completely and 
distinctly this object, this purpose. The 
following is the Commission as given by 
Matthew 28:16-20: 

"But the eleven disciples went into Gali- 
lee unto the mountain where Jesus had ap- 
pointed them, and when they saw Him they 
worshipped Him, but some doubted. And 
Jesus came to them and spake unto them, 
saying, All authority hath been given me 
in heaven and on earth. Go ye therefore 
and make disciples of all the nations, bap- 
tizing them into the name of the Father 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 
teaching them to observe all things what- 
soever I commanded you, and Lo, I am 
with you always, even unto the end of the 
world." 

As given by Mark 16:15, 16, the Com- 
mission is as follows : "And He said unto 
them : Go ye into all the world and preach 
the gospel to the whole creation. He that 
believeth and is baptized shall be saved; 
but he that believeth not shall be con- 
demned." 

From these last great words of our Lord 
to His eleven disciples, we conclude that 
the great object or purpose of His 
churches, as organizations and institu- 
tions in the world, is to preach and teach 
the great and blessed truth of His Word, 
and to administer the ordinances of the 
gospel. 

It is not primarily to "clothe the naked 
and feed the hungry." These blessed 
deeds of commiseration, while displaying 
the glorious fruits of the gospel, are inci- 
dental to the one great purpose of the 
churches. 

Nor is it primarily to educate the world 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

along secular lines, but so to preach the 
gospel and teach the Bible as to bring all 
education under the influence and power 
of Christ's Kingdom. 

Nor yet do the churches exist to enact 
and execute laws for the purposes of hu- 
man government, but so to imbue the gen- 
eral public with the principles of the King- 
dom of Christ by preaching, living, and 
teaching His Word, as to place the right- 
eous in places of political influence and 
power. 

Nor is it any part of the business of the 
churches to provide social entertainment 
and amusement for the people; and they 
never undertake it, except to their own 
hurt. The social side of human life be- 
longs to the functions of the home and 
family, and society in general, the founda- 
tion of which should be the Christian home, 
it is the purpose of the churches so to 
preach the gospel, and so to teach all those 
biblical precepts concerning the duty and 
obligations of parents to children, and chil- 
dren to parents, and neighbor to neighbor, 
as to correct all the evils of human society. 

Let it always be understood that the 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORE. 

churches exist as preaching and teaching 
societies ; and let it always be remembered 
that the power of their teaching and 
preaching will depend largely upon the sa- 
credness and reverence with which the peo- 
ple generally regard the churches and their 
work. To make the house of God a place 
for social rendezvous, or athletics, or a 
semi-business affair, where bazaars, rum- 
mage sales, spelling bees, theatrical per- 
formances, bowling alleys, etc., occupy 
prominent places, is so to secularize and 
degrade the preaching and teaching of the 
great truths of the gospel as to rob them of 
their greatest effectiveness. The churches 
cannot, were not intended to, perform the 
functions and do the work of either the 
state, the home, the family, or society. 
Their work of preaching and teaching the 
Word of God sustains a direct relation to 
all these institutions; and the power of 
their preaching and teaching to affect all 
these for good will depend largely upon 
their isolation from them, in a way, and 
their maintenance of reverence for even 
the places where they meet for the solemn 
worship of a holy Savior. That churches 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

should include in their ministrations all 
those tender and beautiful charities, such 
as caring for the sick, the aged, the orphan 
and the poor, is freely admitted; but, like 
their Savior and Head, they should always 
make these ministrations subservient to 
the one great purpose of proclaiming the 
gospel of salvation from sin, which cre- 
ates conditions of human society that pre- 
vent, as well as cure, the ills, of human life. 



(35) 



CHAPTER VI. 

The Church and General Bodies. 

The New Testament gives us only one 
organization for the entire work of 
Christ's Kingdom on earth; that is, the 
local- church. Since, in all religious work, 
the principle of perfect freedom, or volun- 
tariness, must obtain everywhere, the local 
church is the only organization possessing 
authority, which is necessary or possible. 
All co-operative bodies are created for the 
mutual edification and co-operation of the 
churches; and no legislative or discipli- 
nary power is claimed by them. In the 
local church there is recognized the per- 
fect equality of the members, in all matters 
left to the churches to decide. The rela- 
tion of the local church, therefore, to all 
general bodies, is purely voluntary, the 
general body possessing as its only pre- 
rogative the power of receiving for, or dis- 
missing churches from, membership. 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

The object or purpose of the churches 
being to preach the gospel to the whole cre- 
ation, and to teach all nations, plainly lays 
upon each church the duty and obligation 
to co-operate with other churches in the 
great work of carrying out the world-wide 
Commission given to them by their risen 
Lord. The inability of any local church 
to accomplish all that is involved in the 
Commission, plainly lays upon each and 
every one the obligation to form such co- 
operative alliances with sister organiza- 
tions as will contribute the most possible 
toward the accomplishment of the great 
purpose of its existence. This plan of the 
co-operation of the churches in general 
work, has the sanction of the New Testa- 
ment Scriptures. The poor saints in Jeru- 
salem were aided by a co-operative move- 
ment among the early churches; and the 
apostle Paul, the first great missionary, 
was supported by the combined offerings 
of several churches. He said to the Co- 
rinthian brethren, 2 Corinthians 11:8, "I 
robbed other churches, taking wages of 
them that I might minister unto you." 
This plainly shows that the great mis- 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

sionary received a wage, and that that 
wage was provided by the co-operation of 
several churches. This voluntary co-oper- 
ation of the churches in missionary enter- 
prise, not only does not interfere with the 
principle of the independence of the local 
church, but is, by both the principle of ex- 
pediency and Scripture precedent and ex- 
ample, demanded. It should be kept in 
mind that, when we speak of the indepen- 
dence of the local church, we do not mean 
that the church is to exercise its indepen- 
dence to that extent that it disregards the 
command of its Lord, which is the law of 
its being. The Commission given to the 
local church is to "preach the gospel to the 
whole creation"; and plainly no one local 
church can do this, except as it co-operates 
with its sister churches; therefore, local 
churches are not free to refuse to enter 
into that fellowship of work with others, 
which furnishes the only method by which 
they can possibly perform the work that 
has been given them to do. Especially is 
this true since we have the example of such 
co-operation among the churches which 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

were under the care of the inspired apos- 
tles themselves. 

It ought to go without saying, that all 
general bodies among Baptists should be 
the creatures of, and amenable to, the 
churches that form them. They have no 
reason for their existence, except as they 
carry out the wishes of the people 01 God, 
as expressed through the messengers of 
the churches. The disregard of this prin- 
ciple has called forth some righteous criti- 
cism of the woiiv of our general bodies. 
The answer that all our co-operative bodies 
should preserve for themselves, to make to 
their critics, is: We are the messengers 
of the churches, appointed to carry out the 
will of the churches with whom is lodged 
all ecclesiastical authority on earth. Hav- 
ing won for themselves the right to make 
such an answer, they need not fear. 



(40) 



CHAPTER VII. 

Unity of Organization. 

The church itself is the only necessary 
local organization for each and every class 
of its members, and for the prosecution of 
every phase of its work. When one be- 
comes a member of the church, he takes 
upon himself the highest and mightiest 
obligation possible, to do every duty that 
devolves upon a Christian. To undertake 
to supplement this obligation by seeking 
to enroll him in some internal organization, 
in or about the church, is not only dishon- 
oring to the church, but is very unwise. 
The claims of the divine institution, or or- 
ganization, into the membership of which 
one was inducted by the solemn ordinance 
of baptism in the name of the Father, Son 
and Holy Spirit, are more easily pressed 
home to the conscience of a converted per- 
son than possibly could be the claims of 
some extra-scriptural society. Is not the 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

church itself for the young and the old; 
lor men and for women? Is not the 
church itself a sufficient organization to 
have and conduct a Bible study and teach- 
ing service, on Sunday morning? Is not 
the church itself a good missionary society 
for both men and women and young peo- 
ple? Cannot the church itself originate 
and conduct a service for the enlistment 
and training of its young people? Why 
have a separate organization for different 
classes of church members, and a separate 
organization for the prosecution of each 
separate feature of the churches* work? 
Why not make all these services, services 
of the church? — a service for teaching and 
studying the Book; a service for preach- 
ing; a service for prayer; a service in the 
interest of the work of women; a service 
for the training and enlistment of young 
people. The fact is, that, in all the life 
and work of the church, each class of per- 
sons needs every other class, and should, 
by intimate association in all the services 
of the Lord's house, cultivate interest in, 
and love for, every other class. (1 Cor. 
12:12): "For as the body is one, and 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

hath many members, and all the members 
of the body being many are one body; so 
also is Christ. For in one Spirit were we 
all baptized into one body, whether Jews or 
Greeks, whether bond or free; and were 
all made to drink of one Spirit. For the 
body is not one member, but many. If the 
foot shall say, .because I am not the hand I 
am not of the body, it is not therefore not 
of the body. And if the ear shall say, Be- 
cause I am not the eye I am not of the body, 
it is not therefore not of the body. If the 
whole body were an eye, where were the 
hearing? If the whole body were hearing, 
where were the smelling? But now hath 
God set the members each one of them in 
the body, even as it pleased Him. And if 
they were all one member, where were the 
body? But now they are many members, 
but one body. And the eye cannot say to 
the hand, I have no need of thee ; or again 
the head to the feet, I have no need of you. 
. . . that there should be no schism in 
the body, but that the members should 
have the same care one for another. And 
whether one member suffer, all the mem- 
bers suffer with it, or one member is hon- 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

ored, all the members rejoice with it. 
Now ye are the body of Christ, and sev- 
erally members thereof." 

This is as much as to say that the old 
need the young, and the young need the 
old ; the men need the women, and the wo- 
men need the men; the laymen need the 
preacher, and the preacher needs the lay- 
men. The entire membership is a body; 
and the body without a hand, or a foot, or 
an eye, or an ear, is maimed and crippled. 
The thought and prayer of every member 
of the church should be centered on the 
work of the men, and the work of the wo- 
men, on the work of the old, and the work 
of the young — on Bible study, on missions, 
on Christian beneficence, on prayer and 
devotion, on praise and thanksgiving— that 
whatever is undertaken may have the best 
strength of a whole healthy body; that 
what is to be suffered, may be shared by 
all. 



(44) 



CHAPTER VIII. 
Launching the Work. 

1. The Sunday School. 

Let there be, first of all, the proper con- 
ception of what the Sunday School should 
be. It is not an organization: it is the 
church gathered on Sunday to study and 
teach the Word of God. It is a service of 
the church, and should no more be thought 
of as an organization, than is the preach- 
ing service. The church should, in regu- 
lar business session, select a superin- 
tendent, and he, in connection with the 
pastor and deacons, should select teachers ; 
and monthly reports of the work of the 
Sunday School should be made at the regu- 
lar business session of the church. Any 
other helps for the Sunday School, such as 
secretary, treasurer, and so on, should be 
selected by the church. Great harm has 
come to the cause, by making the Sunday 
School an organization in itself. 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

(a) It displaces the responsibility for 
the Sunday School, and, in a way, fur- 
nishes an excuse for members of the 
church taking no part in the work. 

(b) It contributes to the notion that 
the Sunday School is for children, and not 
for all classes. 

(c) It relieves the church of the re- 
sponsibility for what is taught in the Sun- 
day School, which is really of as much im- 
portance as what is taught in the pulpit. 

(d) It introduces division and dissen- 
sion in the work, while the Sunday School 
may be going one way and the church an- 
other. 

(e) It divorces the Bible-study service 
from the preaching service, and tends to 
make a different congregation for each. 
Since the Sunday School is one thing and 
the church another thing, the Sunday 
School holds its service in the morning, 
and takes its departure; and then the 
church holds its service, and departs. This 
custom has raised the question in the 
minds of many thoughtful persons, as to 
whether the Sunday School has done more 
harm than good ; and if the result is to be 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK 

the education of our children, and young 
people, into the habit of going away from 
the preaching service, the question is not 
without foundation. 

The only remedy for this condition, is 
to make the Sunday School one of the regu- 
lar services of the church, and to disabuse 
the mind of the general public of the no- 
tion that Sunday School is especially for 
children, and a separate thing from the 
church. It is my deliberate opinion that, 
if our children are to attend only one serv- 
ice on Sunday, it would better be the 
preaching service than the Sunday School. 
My reasons for this opinion are : 

(a) The preacher, as a rule, is a better 
teacher than any Sunday School teacher. 
It is presumed that he has made the Word 
of God his special study, and as a rule he 
has done so. He can set the truth before 
all classes of people, so as to win accept- 
ance for it, far better than the Sunday 
School teacher can do. 

(b) The preacher, if he be the right 
kind, is under a special call of God to 
preach and to teach His Word; and he 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

therefore possesses an unction that the 
Sunday School teacher does not possess. 

(c) As a rule the sermon possesses a 
power of exhortation and appeal that is not 
present in the Sunday School teaching. 
Much of the time of the teacher is neces- 
sarily taken up with matters of history, 
geography, habits, etc., and as a rule he 
has only thirty minutes before his class. 

If any one will take the pains to investi- 
gate as I have done, he will find that at 
least ninety per cent of all truly converted 
persons will say that they were brought to 
a decision for Christ, not through the Sun- 
day School, but through the preaching of 
some man called of God to the ministry of 
the Word. This is not to depreciate the 
teaching service of the church, but it is to 
say that, as a rule, the Sunday School 
scholar who attends only the Sunday 
School service, will grow out of the Sunday 
School, and drift away from the church, 
entirely ; and only those, as a rule, who at- 
tend the preaching services, become Chris- 
tians. 

After all this is said, the Sunday School, 
the Bible-teaching service, is one of the 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

most important services of the church. Of 
those who are brought to confess Christ, 
and unite with the churches, by far the 
larger number are those who have at- 
tended the Sunday School. And in these 
busy days, about the only consecutive 
studying of the Scriptures done, is that 
which we do in connection with the Sun- 
day School. 

2. The work of women. 

There is always study and work in which 
women only can engage. Many of them 
have time between their household duties 
that they can devote to study, devotion and 
service, which their brethren do not have. 
Each church should have a committee of, 
say, five of the most spiritual and discrete 
sisters in the church, who are appointed to 
take the lead in these matters. Their 
work should be considered by the whole 
church, and reports of their doings should 
be made to the church. In this way they 
can do all that is proposed by a separate 
organization. Let it be understood that 
by virtue of her membership in the church, 
every woman is to take a lively interest in 
the special work of the sisters. It seems 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

to me, however, that it would conserve the 
very best interests of the churches, and 
be the occasion of far less expense to the 
denomination, if women would be con- 
tented to make all their contributions 
through the church itself, as do other mem- 
bers; through the same channels, and to 
the same objects, through which, and to 
which, the brethren contribute. 

3. The training of young people. 

In much the same way, any special work 
for the enlistment and training of the 
young people should be done. A commit- 
tee selected by the church should have 
charge of the work and report to the 
church. 

But after all this is said, it remains a 
fact that, in almost all, if not quite all, of 
the devotion, study, and work of the 
churches, all classes of members should 
meet together, pray together, study to- 
gether, and work together. The teaching 
of the Scriptures is all on the side of this 
view, and after all, it is well not to proceed 
in any direction where the way is not 
clearly pointed out by the revealed will of 
God. 

(50) 



CHAPTER IX. 

The Work of the Pastor. 

The burden of New Testament teaching 
is all on the side of the permanency of the 
pastoral office. There is nothing in the 
Scriptures to indicate that the office of 
bishop, or pastor, was to be less permanent 
than that of the deacon. The unsettled 
condition of pastors, with the custom of 
remaining only a while in a place, fur- 
nishes the occasion for much that is hurt- 
ful to the cause. No pastor is prepared to 
do his best work, until he has so rooted 
himself down in the church, and in the com- 
munity, as to make it seem next to impos- 
sible for him to move. The short pastor- 
ate is, as a rule, a detriment to the church 
and an injustice to the preacher. It culti- 
vates a spirit of restlessness in the mem- 
bership. There are almost always certain 
persons in every church who are never sat- 
isfied, but are always wanting a change— 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

something new. The custom of frequent 
change of pastors affords this restless class 
a fine opportunity to get in their revolu- 
tionary work. 

Then again, the faithful preacher of the 
whole gospel is sure to give offense to 
worldly and delinquent members. These 
become restless under the faithful admoni- 
tions of the loyal minister of the Word, 
and go to work to unsettle the pastor, even 
if they undo the man of God. 

The custom works a hardship upon the 
pastor. A preacher needs a home. He 
needs some of the comforts of life. He 
makes friends who are near and dear to 
him. He does not enjoy the severing of 
these ties. He learns to love the church 
over which he presides. It becomes a 
part of him. It is his in a sense in which 
no other member possesses it. If he is 
a faithful shepherd, he has entered into 
the joys and sorrows of his people. It 
is like tearing asunder his very heart- 
strings to give up the people for whom 
he has prayed, over whom he has wept, 
and for whose salvation he has laid 
down his life. Frequent changes of pas- 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

tor is equally detrimental to the church. 
The pastor finds difficulties in the church. 
He at once begins to look for another field. 
He does not seem to realize that it is his 
duty to remain, and settle, and overcome 
these difficulties. The salary is not suf- 
ficient. The pastor should strive, through 
the deacons of the church, to increase the 
salary. If the salary is too small for him, 
it will probably be too small for the next 
man. No pastor ought to leave his field 
on account of these things, until he finds 
that there is no way to remedy such ad- 
verse conditions. 

The pastor is especially charged with the 
spiritual affairs of the church. He should 
press home upon the membership all the 
teaching of the Scriptures upon finances, 
which will fix the responsibility and man- 
agement of that part of the work upon the 
deacons. He cannot, without weakening 
his ministry, take the lead in these mat- 
ters. This is the work of the deacons. 

The preacher's great work is to preach. 
The notion that he is to put in his time at- 
tending to all the visiting of the sick and 
looking after the needs of the poor, is 

(53) 



CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORE. 

wrong. This, as we shall see later, is 
largely the work of the deacon. (1 Tim. 
4 :13) : "Till I come, give heed to reading, 
to exhortation, to teaching. Neglect not 
the gift that is in thee, which was given 
thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the 
hands of the presbytery. Be diligent in 
these things; give thyself wholly to them, 
that thy progress may be manifest unto 
all. Take heed to thyself and to thy teach- 
ing. Continue in these things; for in do- 
ing this thou shalt save both thyself and 
them that hear thee." (Acts 6:2) : "It 
is not fit that we should forsake the Word 
of God and serve tables. Look ye out, 
therefore, brethren, from among you 
seven men of good report, full of the Spirit 
and of wisdom, whom we may appoint over 
this business. But we will continue stead- 
fastly in prayer and in the ministry of the 
Word." 

These Scriptures plainly show us that 
the great work of the preacher is to preach, 
and to teach the Word. By the introduc- 
tion of unscriptural organizations and 
methods of work into the churches of 
Christ, the office of the ministry, and the 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

work of preaching and teaching by the 
called, ordained minister of the gospel, 
have been discounted. The preacher is the 
great teacher of the churches. He is the 
ordained teacher. He has been examined 
by the church as to his Christian experi- 
ence; his call to the ministry; his aptness 
to teach; his views of doctrine, and so on. 
By discounting the pastor as the author- 
ized teacher and preacher, and thrusting 
forward unordained, and often unprepared 
and heterodox, teachers, in Sunday Schools 
and other departments of church work, we 
have added many to our churches who have 
no views, or wrong views, of Christian doc- 
trine, and who become an easy prey for the 
errorists and false teachers of a corrupt 
age. The safeguard is to return to the 
teaching of the Scriptures, in these mat- 
ters, and restore to the ordained, orthodox 
pulpit its chief and scriptural place and 
function, as the source of teaching and 
preaching. The pastor should be given 
the oversight of all the teaching in the 
Sunday School, in the young people's meet- 
ings. He is the head-teacher and will be 
held responsible for what is taught to the 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

flock over which he is the shepherd — the 
pastor. Faithfulness to duty will lead 
him to lay out the work for the church, and 
to see that all its work is faithfully and 
efficiently done; but his own mission is to 
preach a whole gospel earnestly and faith- 
fully. 



(56) 



CHAPTER X. 
The Work of the Deacon. 

I now come to consider what, as it seems 
to me, is the most important matter, just 
now, concerning the work of our churches. 

In a previous chapter of this book I have 
referred to the origination of the office of 
deacon as recorded in Acts 6:1: "And in 
those days when the number of disciples 
was multiplying, there arose a murmuring 
of the Grecian Jews, against the Hebrews, 
because their widows were neglected in the 
daily ministration. And the twelve called 
the multitude of the disciples unto them, 
and said, It is not fit that we should for- 
sake the Word of God and serve tables. 
Look ye out, therefore, brethren, from 
among you seven men of good report, full 
of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may 
appoint over this business. But we will 
continue steadfastly in prayer and in the 
ministry of the Word. And the saying 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

pleased the whole multitude, and they 
chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of 
the Holy Spirit"; then follow the names 
of the other deacons, and the account con- 
tinues — "Whom they set before the apos- 
tles, and when they had prayed, they laid 
their hands upon them" — ordained them to 
office. 

All the life and work of the churches 
may be classed under two heads : the spir- 
itual, and the temporal, or financial. At 
the head of these two departments of the 
churches' life and work, stand the two of- 
fices, bishop, or pastor, and deacon. The 
scriptural qualifications of these two offi- 
cers are, to a degree, similar, for the rea- 
son that their duties shade into each other. 
The teaching in the pulpit, and the finances 
in the pew, are so directly related and 
interdependent, that the officer at the head 
of the one becomes the helper to the officer 
at the head of the other. The word dea- 
con, Greek diakanos, means servant — one 
who helps, who ministers, especially in 
temporal matters. 

Now it goes without saying, that a most 
serious weakness in all religious work is 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

found in the desultory, irresponsible, inef- 
ficient management of the finances of the 
churches. In many, if not in the majority 
of instances, the work of the deacon has 
been taken out of his hands ; or, on account 
of his failure to perform his duty, neces- 
sity has compelled the churches to seek to 
have the work done by others. This im- 
portant part of the Lord's work has fallen 
to the lot of women and young people, to 
temporary committees, and so on, until the 
financial credit of churches has been, in a 
manner, destroyed, and the whole name 
and cause so far brought into disrepute. 

Again, the failure of the deacons at this 
point has, in part, been the cause of the 
adoption of expedients for the raising of 
money for the Lord's cause, which have 
been as disgraceful to the churches as they 
have been offensive to God. Still further, 
many of our good preachers have been 
ruined, as great preachers of the gospel, 
by making them financial agents to do the 
work that can only be efficiently done by 
the scriptural officers of the church, 
who are charged by their Lord with these 
matters. 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

It is my deliberate opinion, after years 
of observation, that the lack of money for 
the support of every interest, institution 
and work, among the people of God, is not 
on account of the illiberality or penuri- 
ousness of the people of God, but on ac- 
count of the lack of intelligent, consecrated 
leadership in the individual church. There 
is scarcely a church in all the land that 
could not be made a liberal contributor to 
all the interests of the Kingdom, by three 
to ten faithful, scripturally qualified dea- 
cons. It should be said also that, in the 
very nature of the case, it cannot be done 
in any other way. "Movements" will not 
do it; they are a mere temporary expedi- 
ent. The women cannot do it. The finan- 
cial agent cannot do it, for the reason that 
his visits are too infrequent. The pastor 
cannot do it, except through the deacons. 
The deacons, if they possess the scriptural 
qualifications, understand their duties, 
and will perform them, can do it. This is 
true, not in any arbitrary way, but in the 
very nature of the case. Women and chil- 
dren do not carry the purse, and men will 
not follow the leadership of women, any- 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

way. It was not intended by the Maker 
that they should. "Man is the head over 
the woman as Christ is head over the 
church." Woman was created to help 
him; and the only way for woman to 
exercise her greatest influence over man, 
is to take her God-ordained place at 
his side, as his helper, and not in front of 
him, as his leader. We must come to 
realize that the financial business of the 
churches is, as we say, a man's job. The 
Layman's Movement, as it is called, has 
been made necessary by the failure of our 
churches at this point, and no permanent 
good results will follow this movement un- 
less it crystallizes in emphasizing anew 
the office and the work of the deacon, in 
the churches of Christ. Those things, in 
all our work, which fail to recognize the 
churches, themselves, as the only divine 
institutions and fundamental organiza- 
tions for the carrying forward of the work 
of the Kingdom, will finally fail, and they 
ought to fail. This is true because any 
doctrine or practice among the Lord's peo- 
ple that has not the appeal of a "thus saith 
the Lord" to the Christian conscience, will 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

not, cannot, endure. If the pastor at- 
tempts to run the finances of the church, 
he will soon either compromise himself, or 
so secularize his ministry, and occupy his 
time, as to be unable to preach and apply 
the Word, not only to this feature, but also 
to every other feature of the life of the 
church, and so all will fail. 

Distinct scriptural appeal can be made 
to the deacon to do this work. His quali- 
fications, if he be a scripturally qualified 
deacon, point to him as the very person, of 
all persons, to do this work. The deacon's 
work combines, also, the spiritual side of 
church life with the financial; and this is 
as it should be. Giving should be an act 
of worship ; and one who is simply and only 
a financial agent, will do more harm than 
good, by his appeals for money. The two 
sides of the Christian life must go along 
together. That deacon who has visited the 
membership of the church in times of sick- 
ness and financial distress, and who has, 
by such deeds of kindness and mercy, in- 
gratiated himself into the good favor of 
the Lord's people, is the only man who 
ought to be sent to the brethren and sisters 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

to solicit their contributions to the Lord's 
work. The idea of sending around a flip- 
pant young girl, or a beautiful, attractive 
woman, on account of the influence she 
may exercise over men, is as disgraceful 
as it is ineffective. Only that giving to 
the Lord's work which is an expression of 
love for God and His cause in the world, by 
the giver, is acceptable to our Lord, and 
proftable in the work and benevolence of 
the church. 



(63) 



CHAPTER XI. 
Conducting the Deacon's Work. 

We have seen that the pastor and the 
deacon are the officers of the church. We 
have spoken of the scriptural qualifica- 
tions of these officers. Now, presuming 
that we have a scripturally qualified pas- 
tor and scripturally qualified deacons, how 
shall we begin to conduct the deacon's 
work? It would probably be a good plan 
for the pastor to call the deacons and their 
wives together, and talk over the personal 
condition and needs of the entire member- 
ship. Then divide the membership into 
groups, setting a deacon over each group. 
Then let it be understood that it is the duty 
of each deacon to ascertain, as far as pos- 
sible, the financial and spiritual condition 
of each member of his group. If he be the 
man of God he ought to be, he can soon win 
his way into the affections of his brethren 
and sisters. First of all, he should con- 
sider the financial need and distress of any 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

who may be poor and hard-run. He should 
at once report every case of sickness or 
financial distress among the membership, 
in his group, to the pastor and to the body 
of deacons. Such need should be supplied. 
He should go into these homes and comfort 
the people, and pray with them. In a 
short time the people could be educated up 
to the habit of informing the deacon when 
the physician is called. In every case of 
sickness a special meeting of as many dea- 
cons as can be gotten together, along with 
the pastor, should be held, and special 
prayers should be made for the sick. 

Then it should be considered the duty of 
each deacon to labor, exhort and pray with 
each and every member in his group, until 
every one forms the habit of laying by in 
store on the first day of every week, God's 
just and fair proportion of his income. In 
some instances it might be well for the 
deacons to have furnished to each member 
a small box, or bank, as they are termed, 
into which the Lord's money should be 
placed. Then let these offerings be 
brought to the house of God on Sunday, if 
weekly services are held, or on whatever 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

Sunday the church is in the habit of meet- 
ing for worship. It would be well, if, 
after long and faithful effort on the part 
of pastor and deacons, there are members 
who will not conform their lives to this 
plain scriptural method of conducting the 
Lord's work, to cite such members to ap- 
pear before the church and give reasons 
why they will not so conform their lives. 
The carrying of a great number of mem- 
bers who will not conform their conduct 
to the plain teaching of God's Word, as to 
these matters, is not only a heavy burden 
and hindrance to the work of the church, 
but is at the same time an injustice, and a 
ruinous education to members themselves, 
for which the church should, and will, be 
held responsible in the day of Judgment. 
It ought to be taken for granted that, when 
the plain teaching of the Word of God has 
been laid upon the conscience of a man, in 
the right spirit and in the right way, over 
and over again, and when all patience and 
forbearance toward him have been exer- 
cised, and he still persists in utter disre- 
gard of every admonition — such a man 
has not the "root of the matter" in him; 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

and the sooner he is made to realize his lost 
condition, the better it is for him. Per- 
haps the greatest burden borne, and the 
most prolific source of weakness in all the 
churches of this time, is the great number 
of worldly professors of religion who are 
found within the membership of the 
churches. The plan of work herein out- 
lined would purge the churches of this 
class, and, I believe, usher in a great spir- 
itual revival among the Lord's people. It 
would fill the Lord's treasury with means 
for every department of the Lord's work; 
untie the hands of the ministry; fill the 
earth with missionaries of the Cross, and 
bring in the better day, for which some 
have longed and prayed, when the knowl- 
edge of God shall have covered the earth. 

Of course, it is understood that, to carry 
forward this work of the deacons, there 
would have to be stated meetings of the 
pastor and the deacons, and, frequently, 
meetings to which all of the men of the 
church would be invited. 

This is God's method. It can only be 
carried out by Spirit-filled people of God. 
But God's work can be done in God's way. 

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CHAPTER XII. 
The Ordinances. 

There were two events in the life and 
work of Jesus as the Redeemer of man- 
kind, which may be regarded as the cul- 
minations or climaxes of His career. The 
one was His death on the Cross ; the other, 
His burial and resurrection. "He was de- 
livered for our offenses and raised for our 
justification." The two ordinances of the 
churches were intended to celebrate and 
commemorate these events, and to symbol- 
ize the participation of the Lord's people 
in the benefits and blessings derived from 
them. The ordinance of baptism stands at 
the entrance upon the Christian career. 
It commemorates the burial and resurrec- 
tion of the Lord, and symbolizes the spirit- 
ual burial of the regenerated, converted 
sinner to a life of sin, and his resurrection 
to a new and godly life. 

The ordinance of the Lord's Supper, 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

which the membership of His churches 
observe from time to time, commemorates 
the death of Christ, and proclaims the 
faith of His people in the blessings secured 
for them by His death, as the one and only- 
source of their sustained spiritual life. 

The qualifications of the participants in 
these two ordinances, are plainly made out 
by the very nature, purpose and signifi- 
cance of the ordinances themselves. Cer- 
tainly only those who have died to sin, 
through regeneration and conversion, 
should, upon any account, be symbolically 
buried and raised again in baptism. Rom. 
6:4: "We were buried therefore with 
Him through baptism into death : that like 
as Christ was raised from the dead 
through the glory of the Father, so we also 
might walk in newness of life." That is, 
those who died to sin were buried through 
baptism. Now this very symbolic signifi- 
cance of baptism just as plainly sets forth 
the act of baptism, or, as we say, the mode. 
Sprinkling or pouring misses the one sole 
significance of the ordinance, and so 
plainly indicates that those who employ 
these symbols have no conception, can 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

have no conception, of the purpose or sig- 
nificance of the rite. So we may say that 
only those who are baptized by the scrip- 
tural baptism, have, or can have, the aim 
and purpose in the act which alone renders 
the performance baptism at all. 

From the very nature and purpose of the 
Lord's Supper, it is clear that only those 
who have personal union with Christ, by a 
living faith in Him, can possibly partici- 
pate in the real observance of the ordi- 
nance. 1 Corinthians 10:16-21: "The 
cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a 
communion of the blood of Christ? The 
oread which we break, is it not a com- 
munion of the body of Christ? seeing that 
we who are many are one bread, one body, 
for we all partake of the one bread." . . . 
"Ye cannot drink of the cup of the Lord, 
and the cup of demons : ye cannot partake 
of the table of the Lord and the table of 
demons." It is plain that only real Chris- 
tians, therefore, can commune with the 
"one body" ; so that in fact the very nature 
and purpose of the ordinance limits its ob- 
servance to saved persons, while the exam- 
ple of Jesus in the institution of the Sup- 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

per plainly limits it, not only to saved, bap- 
tized persons, but to that company of dis- 
cipels that He had brought into relation 
with each other, as we have before seen in 
this book, in church fellowship. Jesus did 
not invite even his own mother to commune 
with Him. The Supper was limited to the 
members of the church. Nothing in the 
Scriptures is clearer than the fact that 
the Supper, by its very nature and pur- 
pose, and by the example of its founder, is 
a "close communion/' as some have been 
in the habit of referring to it, in terms of 
disrespect. 

All the so-called evangelical denomina- 
tions of Christians agree, and so state in 
their confessions of faith, that only bap- 
tized persons should come to the Lord's 
table. Those who hold that either sprink- 
ling, pouring, or immersion is baptism, 
can, consistently, invite all those who have 
submitted to any one of these forms, to 
take part in the celebration of the Supper. 
Baptists hold that only a believer in Christ 
who has been baptized (immersed) in the 
name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, 
is really baptized; therefore, they, acting 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

on precisely the same principle, and by the 
same rule by which others proceed, can in- 
vite only baptized (immersed) believers to 
the Lord's table. So that the difference 
between Baptists and others is not as to 
the Supper, but as to baptism. All reason- 
able persons of other denominations hon- 
estly admit that, if they believed as Bap- 
tists do concerning baptism, they would 
practice as Baptists do in reference to the 
Supper. Let us therefore look a little 
more closely into the teaching of the Scrip- 
tures on the subject of baptism. In this 
matter, there is no better way, perhaps, 
than to place before my readers every pas- 
sage of Scripture to be found in the Bible 
which refers to the matters that are in dis- 
pute concerning this ordinance. The fol- 
lowing are the questions, concerning bap- 
tism, about which denominations of Chris- 
tians differ: 

1. The Subject. 

2. The Mode. 

3. The Design. 

For the convenience of my readers, all 
the passages found in the Scriptures, re- 
ferring to baptism, are here arranged un- 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

der these three heads, and while, in each 
case, the full reference is given by book, 
chapter and verse, only the words of the 
reference referring directly to the subject, 
under which they stand, will be quoted. 

1. The Subject — That is, Who should 
be baptized? 

Matthew 18:18-20: " Teach all nations, 
baptizing them . . . teaching them to 
observe all things." 
Mark 16:15-16: "He that believeth and 

is baptized shall be saved." 

Matthew 3 :l-6, 13-17 : "Then went out to 

him Jerusalem and all Judea and all the 

region round about Jordan, and were 

baptized of him in Jordan, confessing 

their sins." 

Mark 1:4, 5, 9-11: "And there went out 

unto him all the land of Judea and they 

of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of 

him in the river of Jordan, confessing 

their sins." 
Luke 3:3, 7, 8, 21, 22: "Then said he 
to the multitude that came forth to be 
baptized of him, generation of vipers, 
who hath warned you to flee from the 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

wrath to come? Bring forth therefore 
fruits worthy of repentance/' 

Acts 2:37-47: "Repent and be baptized." 
"Then they that gladly received his 
Word were baptized." 

Acts 8:12, 13: "But when they believed 
Philip preaching the things concerning 
the kingdom of God, and the name of 
Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both 
men and women." "Then Simon him- 
self believed also, and when he was bap- 
tized," etc. 

Acts 9:17, 18: "And he received sight 
forthwith, and arose, and was baptized." 

Acts 10 : 44-48 : "Can any man forbid wa- 
ter, that these should not be baptized, 
which have received the Holy Ghost as 
well as me?" 

Acts 16:13-15: "Whose heart the Lord 
opened that she attended unto the things 
which were spoken of Paul. And when 
she was baptized," etc. 

Acts 16:19-^4: "Believe on the Lord 
Jesus Christ . . . and was baptized 
. . . believing in God with all his 
house." 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

Acts 18:8, 25: "Hearing, believed and 
were baptized." 

Acts 19:1-5: "Baptized with the baptism 
of repentance." 

2. The Mode: Was it sprinkling, pour- 
ing or immersion? 

Matthew 3:6: "And were baptized of 
him in Jordan" 

Matthew 3 :16 : "And Jesus when He was 
baptized went up straightway out of the 
water." 

Mark 1:5: "All baptized of him in the 
river of Jordan." 

Mark 1:9, 10: "And it came to pass in 
those days that Jesus came from Naza- 
reth of Galilee and was baptized of John 
in Jordan. And straightway coming up 
out of the water" 

John 3:23: "And John was baptizing in 
Aenon near to Salem because there was 
much water there." 

Acts 8:38, 39: "And they went down 
both into the water, both Philip and the 
eunuch; and he baptized him; and when 
they were come up out of the ivater." 

Rom. 6:4: "Therefore we are buried with 
Him by baptism into death, that like as 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

Christ was raised up from the dead by 
the glory of the Father, even so we also 
should walk in newness of life." 

Colossians 11:12: "Buried with Him in 
baptism, wherein also ye are risen with 
Him." 
3. The Design of Baptism, 

John 3:6: And were baptized of him in 
Jordan, confessing their sins," 

John 3:15: "Thus it becometh us to ful- 
fill all righteousness." 

Mark 1:5: "And were all baptized of 
him in the river of Jordan, confessing 
their sins." 

Luke 3:7, 8: "Then said he to the multi- 
tude that came forth to be baptized of 
him . . . bring forth therefore fruits 
worthy of repentance." 

Acts 2:38: Then Peter said unto them, 
Repent and be baptized, every one of 
you, in the name of Jesus Christ for 
(unto) the remission of sins." 

Acts 10 :47 : "Can any man forbid water, 
that these should be baptized, ivhich 
have received the Holy Ghost as well as 
we?" 

Acts 16:31: "And they said, Believe on 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be 
saved . . . and was baptized." 
Acts 22:16: "Arise and be baptized and 

ivash away thy sins." 
Rom. 6:4: "Therefore we are buried 
with Him by baptism into death, that 
like as Christ was raised up from the 
dead by the glory of the Father, even so 
we also should walk in the newness of 
life." 
Gallatians 3:27: "For as many of us as 
have been baptized into Christ, have put 
on Christ." 
1 Peter 3 :21 : "The like figure whereunto 
even baptism doth now save us (not the 
putting away of the filth of the flesh, 
but the answer of a good conscience to- 
ward God) by the resurrection of Jesus 
Christ." 

It is perhaps unnecessary to say a word 
as to the obvious teaching of these Scrip- 
tures. The mystery is that all Christians 
do not agree as to these matters. The 
scriptural subject of baptism is, clearly, a 
penitent believer in Christ. There is not 
an intimation that unconscious infants 
were baptized. Then, perhaps, the ques- 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

tion will be asked: Why, then, do great 
denominations of Christians practice the 
sprinkling of infants, calling it baptism? 
The answer is that in the apostasy of the 
Roman Catholic Church the doctrine of 
baptismal salvation gained credence, and 
since it seemed impossible to immerse lit- 
tle babies, and persons who were sick unto 
death, sprinkling was substituted for bap- 
tism, as a last resort. Then, it always has 
seemed the duty of Christians to solemnly 
dedicate their children to God, and since 
it is easier to take them to the church, and 
have the minister sprinkle them, than it is 
to teach and train them, praying with 
them and for them; and so in heart and 
life give one's children to God, the easier 
way has gained credence among many peo- 
ple, even though there is not one word in 
the Bible to justify such a practice. To be 
baptized is a duty which one owes to his 
Lord, and it would seem to be positively 
sinful for a parent to teach his child that 
he performed that act of personal obedi- 
ence for him, before he was sufficiently 
conscious to understand the nature of it. 
As to what baptism is — the mode, as we 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

say — is even plainer. "Baptized of him 
in Jordan"; "Up straightway out of the 
water"; "In the river of Jordan"; 
"straightway coming up out of the water" ; 
"Because there was much water there"; 
"And went down, both into the water, both 
Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized 
him; and when they were come up out of 
the water"; "Buried with Him through 
baptism," and so on. If we couple with 
these passages the fact that the meaning of 
the word baptize, which is, properly speak- 
ing, a Greek word (baptizo) adapted to 
the English language by a simple change 
in termination, means "to dip," "to im- 
merse," it would seem still the more re- 
markable that all Christians are not of one 
mind in this matter. 

Lest there should be some doubt among 
my readers as to the meaning of this Greek 
word, I here append the testimony of the 
best Greek lexicons in the world : 

Scapula says: "To dip, to immerse, as 
we do anything for the purpose of dyeing 
it." 

Schleusner says : "Properly it signines 
to dip, to immerse, to immerse in water." 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

Parkhurst says: "To dip, immerse, or 
plunge in water." 

Stevens says: "To merge, or immerse, 
to submerge, or bury in water." 

Donnegan says: "To immerse repeat- 
edly into liquid, to submerge, to soak thor- 
oughly." 

Robinson says : "To immerse, to sink." 

Liddell and Scott say: "To dip repeat- 
edly." 

Grimm's Lexicon of the New Testament, 
which stands at the head of Greek lexicog- 
raphy in Europe and America, says: "(1) 
To dip; (2) to cleanse by dipping or sub- 
merging; (3) to overwhelm." 

The design of baptism seems equally 
plain. It is called "the baptism of repent- 
ance," because it symbolizes the over- 
whelming sorrow for sin which leads to re- 
pentance. It is a confession of sin, on ac- 
count of the cleansing nature of the ele- 
ment, water, in which one is baptized. It 
is a burial, to commemorate the burial and 
resurrection of our Lord, and to show that 
one has died to a life of sin, been buried, 
and raised up to walk in newness of life. 
It is a commemoration and a symbol. 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

It should be said here that all denomi- 
nations agree that the immersion of a be- 
liever in the right way, by the proper ad- 
ministrator, is baptism. Therefore no de- 
nomination would have to sacrifice one 
iota of what they now hold, if they should 
adopt believer's baptism as the way. So 
that surely they, not Baptists, are respon- 
sible before God, and should be held re- 
sponsible by men, for the division of the 
Lord's people, when we come to the Lord's 
table. If it be claimed that the matter of 
approaching the table should be left to the 
individual himself, we declare that the 
Scriptures plainly commit the administra- 
tion of the ordinances, with the full pre- 
rogative as to who shall participate in 
their observance, not to the individual, but 
to the body of the Lord's people. 1 Co- 
rinthians 5 :11, 12 : "But now I have writ- 
ten unto you not to keep company, if any 
man that is called a brother be a fornica- 
tor, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, 
or a drunkard, or an extortioner, with such 
an one no not to eat. For what have I to do 
to judge them that are without? Do not 
ye judge them that are within, . . . there- 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

fore put away from among yourselves that 
evil person." 1 Corinthians 11:2: "I 
praise you brethren, that ye remember me 
in all things, and keep the ordinances (tra- 
ditions) as I delivered them unto you." 



(83) 



CHAPTER XIII. 

The Church and \ll Christian Work. 

More and more, of late years, the work 
of the churches has been encroached upon 
by other organizations. It is claimed, for- 
sooth, that the churches are not reaching 
men, and so the Young Men's Christian 
Associations propose to do it. It is claimed 
that the churches are not reaching the 
young people, and so the Young People's 
Societies of Christian Endeavor propose to 
do it. It is claimed that the churches are 
not reaching the poor, and "unchurched 
masses," as they are called, and so the Sal- 
vation Army proposes to do it. It is sup- 
posed that other and different methods 
than those employed by the churches, must 
be resorted to, in order to evangelize and 
Christianize these different classes of peo- 
ple. Then, in addition to these, there must 
be internal organizations, in the churches 
themselves, to accomplish this and that 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

for the different classes of their own mem- 
bers, and for others. Many of these or- 
ganizations are interdenominational or un- 
denominational. It is easy for them to be 
so, for the reason that they subscribe to 
no creed; they hold to no particular body 
of doctrine, and exercise no discipline. 
The terms of admission to membership in 
them are so meager, and the obligations of 
membership so inconsequential, that per- 
sons find it easy to join and belong to 
them. All these organizations get their 
workers, and the means which support 
them, not from the results of their own 
work, as a rule, but from the results of 
the work of the churches. Having little 
or no creed, little or no discipline, little 
or no fundamental spiritual qualifications 
and requirements for membership, they 
furnish for themselves no solid foundation 
upon which to rest. It is my deliberate 
opinion that, but for the work of the 
churches, they would be compelled to adopt 
the plan of organization and work pursued 
by the churches, or they would perish with- 
in a few years. Their work being the more 
spectacular, in a way, brings some of them 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

even more prominently before the public 
than the churches are. Their undenomi- 
national, or interdenominational nature, 
gains for them an advocacy by the secular 
press which cannot be accorded to any de- 
nominational enterprise; and sometimes 
their very success is used by the outsiders 
against the solid work of the churches, 
which always has and always will make 
even their existence possible. This fact 
sets some of the churches in a hostile atti- 
tude to them. But for the fact that God's 
people are split up into different denomi- 
nations, the churches could do all this work 
far better than these undenominational or 
interdenominational organizations. I am 
not so sure but each denomination could, 
separately, do the work better if it would 
undertake it. The fact is, churches aban- 
don the great downtown and tenement dis- 
tricts of the cities to the Salvation Army, 
and to the Young Men's Christian Associ- 
ations, whereas they should put forth their 
most earnest efforts in these districts. 
God's people cannot do their work by 
proxy. If the very best and most culti- 
vated people of God do not show that they 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

are willing to place themselves in personal 
contact, with the masses of men who be- 
long to the toiling tenants of the land, the 
cause they represent will die on their 
hands. If all the Baptist churches in a 
given city, for instance, would unite in the 
support of great downtown interests, 
where the gospel is preached and where 
Christian work is done, the problem could 
be solved, and I am not sure that it ever 
can be solved, or ought to be solved, in any 
other way. 

I submit that there is no Christian work 
beneath the stars which cannot be better 
done by a New Testament church, or 
churches, than by any other organization. 
This is true for the following reasons, a. 
The terms of admission into the member- 
ship of a New Testament church are regen- 
eration, conversion and baptism. These 
terms of admission, along with the disci- 
plinary power with which the church is en- 
dowed, are necessary to preserve the char- 
acter and standing which any Christian 
organization must maintain in order to do 
effective, permanent good in any com- 
munity, b. The financial management of 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

a church of Christ, if it be a New Testa- 
ment church, devolves upon its deacons, 
which is a guarantee of safe and honorable 
management, c. No Christian organiza- 
tion ought to exist in the world, except to 
propound, exemplify, and teach a definite 
body of doctrine. 

Again, the tendency of these extra- 
church organizations is, and has been, to 
break down denominational lines, and to 
teach our Baptist young people especially, 
that one might just as well be anything else 
as to be a Baptist. First came the Sunday 
school, which for years was considered 
something different from the church, and 
an organization in itself — these indepen- 
dent organizations forming alliances with 
similar organizations of other denomina- 
tions — then the Young People's organiza- 
tions, and so on. These entered into alli- 
ances which the churches, as churches, 
never would have thought of forming, for 
the reason that it would have compromised 
their doctrine. Now, let it be understood 
that it is not out of any animosity to other 
denominations that I am saying these 
things; but I do most sincerely hold that 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

the permanent, lasting Christian work of 
the ages has been done by each denomina- 
tion sticking to its own work, in its own 
way, according as it, at least believed it 
was following out, to the letter, the teach- 
ing of the Word of God as to the way of 
doing the Lord's work, and not by a con- 
glomeration of persons holding dissimilar 
views of doctrines and methods of work. 
So in the future the people who hold to the 
"One Lord, one faith, and one baptism," 
will possess, and they only will possess, 
that solidarity of organization and fellow- 
ship which will render them effective 
workers together in carrying to successful 
consummation the work of Christ's king- 
dom in the world. Oneness of faith neces- 
sarily comes before oneness of task. One 
"Lord," one "Faith" — and then comes the 
One "Baptism." 

So we take it that a New Testament 
church which, in organization and service, 
measures up to the New Testament stand- 
ard, with its officers, discipline and doc- 
trine, is the one organization on earth 
which, in co-operation with other like or- 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

ganizations, is best prepared to do all the 
work of Christ. 



(91; 



CHAPTER XIV. 

The Church a Brotherhood. 

Through all the ages mankind has felt 
the need of a real brotherhood which in- 
cludes a larger circle than that of the sin- 
gle family. The success and happiness of 
the individual are so linked up with the 
general good, that each and every thought- 
ful person realizes that his own welfare 
depends largely upon the welfare of his 
fellow men who are about him. Then, the 
best impulses of the human soul lead good 
men to desire to share whatever good they 
enjoy for themselves, with those about 
them, and who may not be members of 
their own individual households. These, 
with other sentiments and principles, have 
led the people of all times to form fraterni- 
ties, emphasizing, in turn, different phases 
of human need and pleasure. All these or- 
ganizations have failed to supply these 
innate necessities and desires, for certain 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

plain and obvious reasons. In order to be 
a real brotherhood, one which is something 
more than a mere name, there must be a 
common parentage and similar sentiments, 
tastes and ambitions. People of dissimi- 
lar natures, etc., may meet together; may 
enroll their names upon a membership roll 
in the same column, but they form no 
brotherhood, nor do they enjoy any real 
fellowship. 

The church of Christ presents to the 
human race the only possible real brother- 
hood among men. It provides for a com- 
mon birth into a real family — the family of 
God. It presents the ideal fraternal na- 
ture, spirit and life, in the character, life, 
and labor of Jesus Christ, the Elder 
Brother in the divine family. It presents 
the only plan of organization upon which it 
is at all possible to constitute a permanent 
brotherhood of mankind, on the larger 
scale. The real scriptural terms of mem- 
bership in a church of Christ, are a change 
of mind and character, and the fashioning 
of each life by the common standard of the 
life of the Son of God. Regeneration and 
conversion make men of every race and 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

country alike in the main features of their 
character; and under the sway of the 
power of this blessed life, men of all races 
and conditions of circumstances acknowl- 
edge a real spiritual kinship which some- 
times proves itself to be stronger than even 
the ties of the family itself. Then these 
scriptural terms of membership in a 
church of Christ, if they be strictly ad- 
hered to, protect the brotherhood from 
that maladministration which so often 
dries up the springs of benevolence, and 
cripples and destroys so many human fra- 
ternities, which maintain no real stand- 
ard of initiation into their membership, 
except, perhaps, a financial one. The 
finances of a church, if it be a real New 
Testament church, are handled by deacons 
who are chosen to their office because they 
stand out among their brethren on account 
of their integrity. And so the very plan 
of organization provides for so safeguard- 
ing the finances as to preserve confi- 
dence and credit. The spirit of brotherly 
love and devotion, a common ideal, with 
common character, aims, and purposes of 
life, constitute a New Testament church of 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

Christ the only real brotherhood among 
men. The "love of the brethren" is consid- 
ered and held to be the chief characteristic 
of the true Christian, and the very best evi- 
dence to himself that he is a real member 
of the heavenly family. From the very be- 
ginning of Christian churches, they have, 
after all, evinced a more enduring, vital- 
ized character than any and all other or- 
ganizations among men. This is true be- 
cause of the very matters here mentioned. 
The brotherhood in Christ Jesus rests upon 
a fellowship of character and the bonds of 
love. I do not claim that this fellowship 
of the Lord's people is always and every- 
where up to the standard. The people of 
God have often allowed other fraternities 
to divide their thought and interest for a 
time ; but as they come up against the real 
trials of life, if they are real Christians, 
their minds and hearts turn to the sweet 
and blessed fellowship of their brethren in 
Christ. 

"Blest be the tie that binds 

Our hearts in Christian love; 
The fellowship of kindred minds 

Is like to that above." 

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CHAPTER XV. 

An Appeal to Pastors. 

Dear Brethren : 

You are the called and ordained leaders 
of the churches of which you are pastors. 
Your calling is the most divine and sacred 
of all the avocations of men. The churches 
will never rise higher than the standards 
that you set for them. Your business is 
to preach the Word, God's plans for doing 
His work are laid in the nature of things. 
You can do God's work, only in His way. 
You may try it in some other way, but the 
working of all God's creation will combine 
to defeat you. You are "thoroughly fur- 
nished to every good work," by the Book 
itself. You will do well to consult the 
Book for direction, not only as to what you 
are to preach, but also as to how you are 
to lead the flock. Not all the minute de- 
tails of church work are laid down in the 
Bible, but there is a clear outline of church 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

organization and work in the New Testa- 
ment. If you are pastor of what is now 
regarded as an up-to-date church, I have 
no doubt that you have often realized that 
much of the time and strength you should 
have put into prayer and the preaching of 
the Word, you have been compelled to de- 
vote to the extra-organizations in your 
church, keeping the intricate machine 
oiled, as we say, and in running order. 
Your time has been taken up with finan- 
cial matters. You have been crippled. I 
beg of you to begin today, to go back to 
the simplicity of New Testament church 
organization and work. Call your deacons 
together. Open your heart to them. If 
they are not the very men, of all the men 
in your church, who come nearest to pos- 
sessing the scriptural qualifications of dea- 
con, seek to have others set part to the 
blessed office. Unify the chruch. Have 
one treasury and one treasurer. Seek to 
have all contribute in the same way, to the 
same things, at the same time. Try God's 
plans. Hold frequent conferences with 
your deacons. Take an interest in the 
Sunday School — the teaching service of the 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

church: you are responsible for what is 
taught there. If there are difficulties on 
your field, work them out. Some one must 
do it. Be brave. Don't give up. Trust 
in God. His Word will not return unto 
Him void. "Be thou faithful in all 
things." Your calling is high and your 
ministry demanded. Your power with 
God and with men will depend upon what 
you are, far more than upon what you say. 
What you are will depend upon what you 
receive, and what you receive will depend 
upon earnest prayer. "He that goeth 
forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, 
shall doubtless return again rejoicing, 
bringing his sheaves with him." 



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CHAPTER XVI. 

An Appeal to Deacons. 

My Beloved Brethren : 

You are men of God. You have been 
chosen by your brethren to one of the two 
offices of the churches of Christ. Your 
brethren singled you out, chose, and or- 
dained you to this sacred office, by reason 
of special confidence they had in you, and 
the special esteem in which you were held. 
The purpose contemplated by the creation 
of your office in the churches, was the 
management of the business of the church. 
The inspired Apostles created the office 
and ordained the first deacons. You be- 
long to a worthy line, at the head of which 
stands the faithful Stephen, the first mar- 
tyr to the cause of his risen Lord. The 
work of the minister, the pastor, has not 
always been done as well as it should have 
been done, but I submit, with all sincerity, 
that your part of the Lord's work has 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

fallen far below that of the pastor, in car- 
rying forward the work of our Lord. You 
have allowed the treasury of the Lord to 
run empty. You have allowed the cause of 
Christ to be brought into disrepute. You 
have attended to your own business af- 
fairs, while you have neglected the house 
of your God. You have turned over, in 
many instances, far too many, the finances 
of the churches to the pastor, and crippled 
his ministry. You have allowed the min- 
ister's support to be cut down to the star- 
vation point, and thus driven men called 
of God to preach, to turn part of their at- 
tention to secular affairs. You are not 
altogether to be blamed. Pastors have 
often been a party to the taking of your 
work out of your hands. The churches, in 
many places, have ignored you and taken 
your work and placed it in the hands of 
women and young people. You have not 
been honored as your place and your serv- 
ice demanded ; but you and your work are 
the hope of the churches, along the lines 
where the cause of Christ is suffering 
most. I appeal to you, in the name of 
Jesus. The doors of heathen nations are 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

all open to receive the missionary. Our 
own beloved nation is over-run by foreign- 
ers who are not favorable to our own 
Christian institutions. Your pastors are, 
in many instances, poorly and irregularly 
paid. The treasury of the Lord is empty. 
I repeat what I have said before: Our 
churches need intelligent, consecrated, effi- 
cient leadship in financial matters. You 
alone can, and should be, the leaders in 
these matters. Will you do it? You must 
do it. Your Master calls you; His bleed- 
ing cause calls you; perishing souls call 
you ; broken-hearted pastors call you. Will 
you heed these calls ? Brother Deacon, you 
are the one to take the initiative. Call 
your brother deacons together. Pray to- 
gether. Plan together. Exnort and en- 
treat your brethren and sisters to adopt 
the Bible plan of laying by them in store 
on the first day of every week as God hath 
prospered them. Go trusting in God, with 
His Word in your hands and His love in 
your heart. You can revolutionize the af- 
fairs of the Kingdom. Despise not the 
day of small things. Get two, get ten, get 
one hundred, of the members of your 

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 

church to give at least one-tenth of their 
income to save a lost world. Get them to 
do this regularly, systematically — and you 
will purchase to yourself "a good degree, 
and great boldness in the faith" ; and your 
Lord will open heaven to you and stand to 
receive your departing spirit as He did 
that of the dying Stephen. 



THE END. 



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